Disclaimer: I wrote this instead of celebrating the holidays (because I'm sick) so be greatful :P
Luffy sat there for a few moments, gawking absently at the sky while his brain tried to processes what he had just seen. For a moment, his brother flashed into his mind, which was flooded by his last words. He remembered that day and the gaping hole in Ace's chest. He felt the weight of his brother slumped over his much smaller frame and the blood that stained his hands back then. Ace was dead.
The boy watched the man, who hadn't made the slightest twitch after landing. He inched closer with curiosity, though still on guard in case he tried anything. He got close enough to see that the man's eyes were open, so he wasn't unconscious. Was he dead? He skidded over to the man's side, though still at quite a distance, and eyed him warily. A minute passed, then another. He inched closer, just a bit. As he focused more on the stranger's face, he saw his eyes meet his. The boy jumped a bit and fingered his side, eyes blank when he realized he no longer had any weapons on him. The child perspired feverously, terrified that this stranger might attack him while he was unarmed.
Luffy hopped to his feet and studied the boy who, at this point, was trembling. Despite that, his brow remained furrowed and his glare was sharp. Luffy ignored the semblance to his brother momentarily and smiled at this, causing the boy to shift back. Whoever he was, he liked this kid. He had spunk. It reminded him of his two brothers from long ago.
Now he wanted to get a better look at him. For every step he took forward, the boy took two back. Still, he could see his face rather clearly. The boy's eyes were rather droopy. They didn't look tired, though. No, these eyes were focused. Determined. Strands of black waves hung in front of his eyes and framed his cheeks, while freckles decorated his face. It wasn't a trick of the light and he wasn't imagining things. Though he was a lot smaller and thinner than Ace, the resemblance was eerie.
"Hey," Luffy stuttered as his eyes flowed down to the child's arms and tattered clothing. Everything was red. He watched, speechless, as the liquid dripped from his fingertips. He reached out to help the boy out and check on his wounds.
The boy bent down to pick up a large stick he saw next to him, keeping his eyes focused on the enemy. Luffy took note of the boy's wince as he grasped the stick. Clearly something was wrong. He charged at Luffy, much like before, and jumped high into the air in an attempt to slam it into his skull. Not this time. Luffy grabbed the stick and it shattered under the force of his hand with ease.
The kid fell. Luffy caught him as he did so and looked down at the Ace look-a-like. He was wincing, scared of the fall. As his eyes slowly peered open, he was greeted by the blank face of the man he had tried to kill. After a sudden gasp, he wriggled and squirmed in protest of the stranger's touch. Luffy sighed.
"You're pretty stubborn, kid." At this, the boy thrust his fist forward. Another dodge. Then again, repeatedly, with both fists. Luffy easily maneuvered around the punches, but the boy's blood had started to fly and hit his clothes and face. With another sigh that sounded a bit like a groan, he put the kid down and knelt beside him. He kept his hands on the boy's shoulders as a precaution against future attacks. "Look, I'm not gonna hurt ya." His response was a deadly glare, in which Luffy pouted and mumbled "You're the one who started it," before continuing. He allowed the boy a few moments to calm before he dropped to the ground cross-legged and showed that he had no weapons on him. After being release the child seemed to settle, though he did not trust Luffy in the least and backed a few steps away. Luffy groaned.
"I need you here so I can look at those wounds." The boy paused to look at his bloodied arms, having forgotten that he was hurt in the first place. Still he wouldn't budge. Clearly his distrust was strong. After noticing that the boy was still rather cautious, Luffy remembered the spear he had carried with him. It had been dropped upon the raven-haired boy's friendly kick. He spun his head around to see it and had an idea.
The Pirate King's arm stretched in its usual fashion to grab hold of the crudely formed weapon before it snapped back in place and ended up in front on the child. The boy shouted in alarm. He ran farther back until he was up against a large trunk. This left the pirate rather perplexed. "What? You live in the New World and have never seen a devil fruit user?" His shocked expression and focus on the stretched arm was more than enough of an answer.
Luffy stretched his arm farther forward until it was inches from his scared foe. He nudged him a bit, urging him to grab onto the spear. "Here," he began, "you're worried I'll hurt you, right?" After a brief silence, he snatched the weapon away. That calmed him down.
"Now why don't you get over here so I can take a look at those wounds?" He didn't budge. "Looks like you've lost a lot of blood, kid." The boy prepared a fighting stance. He was far more stubborn than Luffy had originally hoped.
"You wanna die out here, brat?"
His words jolted the youth. His eyes filled with a sudden realization. After thinking more deeply, he was getting dizzy and his vision was blurred. He hadn't noticed before – the adrenaline was too strong. Reluctantly he motioned over to the adult, though not fully willing. He closed the distance between them and stood before the strange man, now refusing to make eye contact. It was quite a funny contrast.
Luffy smiled at this. At least the boy had some sense. He raised his right arm to the boy, who winced and shut his eyes tight, and gently grabbed hold of his arm. At this, the kid slowly peeked at the arm and watched what Luffy was doing as he scanned his arm for all its damage. He did this for the other arm as well after the boy had changed the hand he was holding the spear with. Then he looked at his clothes. They were clearly many sizes too small for the kid and were in horrible condition. He now knew how scared the boy was and knew to tread more carefully. They didn't need another outburst like the one from before, after all.
"Alright, I'm going to lift your shirt to check your chest. You understand?" The boy didn't reply, but relaxed in compliance. As he lifted the shirt, Luffy couldn't help but wince just as the child had before. The boy was thin. His ribcage showed and it was only then that Luffy noticed just how pale he was. On top of that were bloodied cuts and even a bit of missing flesh. It was repulsive to see on a child. His wounds were one thing, but there was something else wrong with him. Now he knew why he was so cautious.
Luffy noticed the kid staring at him, almost waiting for an answer. He sighed and gave him a weak smile. After so many years at sea, he'd seen most everything. At this point, it was hard to surprise him. He'd seen many cases similar to this. Though normally he remained uninterested, leaving the doctoring to Chopper, he'd picked up a few things over his career of piracy. This was the first time he'd seen a child in that state, at least to his knowledge. Noting the child's anticipation, he snickered.
"You're a tough brat, I'll give you that." The boy didn't know how to react to that. He wasn't used to conversations like that. In fact, this whole time he'd been rather confused by the weird man. Even then he didn't know whether he should be trusted. "What's your name?"
The boy remained silent.
"Have it your way." Luffy sprung to his feet and swung the boy over his shoulder. Just like earlier, the boy squirmed and resisted, but Luffy didn't pay it any attention. "We'll have you fixed up in no time! Shishishi!"
A woman with long, orange hair held a large, weathered bag over her shoulder. She sighed, wiping her brow, as her partner continued their task. The other woman, ebony hair pushed away from her face, crossed her arms over her chest. Dozens of hands sprouted from the trees.
"Ready, Nami?"
Nami swung the half-full bag to the ground, careful not to damage its contents, and held it open. "Whenever you are," she replied with a grin. The hands picked fruit from the treetops and dropped them into the bag. Within seconds, it was filled to the brim. Nami took a rope and knotted it around the lip of the bag. Once more she heaved it over her shoulder. "I think that'll be good for the next while. We can always come back out later if our Captain decides to eat it all." They both laughed at this.
"Alright," Robin replied, picking up her own bag from the ground.
As they walked back to the ship, Robin couldn't help but notice her crewmate's grumbling. Looking over at Nami, she noticed the girl was slumped over and lacking her usual high spirits. This confused her. It also made her curious.
"What is it?"
"Hmm?" the redhead replied, her voice low and uninterested.
"You're upset."
"It's Luffy." Robin tilted her head at this, urging her to continue. "You know how he is. He always brings back trouble. I really don't want to deal with that again today."
Robin laughed at this. True, that was the usual pattern. Despite proving himself to the world, the Pirate King was a lot of trouble. If he hadn't found himself such a tolerant crew, he never would have made it as far as he did. Even then, he hadn't escaped unscathed. After so much long, hard-fought battles it was astonishing that he was still alive. Everything he did just seemed to give his nakama more hardship. He was never abandoned, though. He gave them something so precious in return: dreams, freedom. A place to belong. Family.
Nami noticed the pleased smile on her friend's face. She let out a heavy sigh and adjusted the bag of fruit. "You don't mind it, do you?"
"Not at all," Robin replied with a smile. "Without him, where would I be right now?" She was still smiling, but the weight of her words brought Nami to a halt. They were the same. If it wasn't for that stupid man she called her Captain, she never would have known that happiness she now did. She would still be under Arlong's control, watching as her island suffered by his hand. She wouldn't be so close to completing a map of the world.
Robin was no different. After running all her life, she found people who accepted her. They didn't care about her past. Whether she was called the Demon of Ohara or Miss All Sunday, it didn't matter to them. They accepted her. They cared for her. And it all started with that clumsy Straw Hat boy.
"Yeah. Luffy's…" Nami's face brightened up as she recalled all of their adventures as teens and young adults. "He's amazing, isn't he?"
"Indeed." Robin nodded and Nami sighed once more.
"Alright, fine. I guess we'll just have to clean up whatever mess he brings back!" She stretched her shoulders and the two continued the short walk back to their sea-bound home.
A/N: To everyone who reviewed, thank you so much ;A; I look forward to your continued support! You're the reason I updated so soon! In fact, I'm going to start on chapter 3 right after updating!
To my lovely reviewers~
99 luffy: Actually I was going to do that but I couldn't think who the mother would be and I don't like pairing canon characters with OCs so I had to change the idea. Ace belongs to everyone! :D
XxSaorixX: Here's your update! :D I wanted to keep to the manga/anime storyline that's out so far so I had to let him die at Marineford T^T Besides, who can resist a chibi Ace? XD
Wanted-YamasakiC. : I am so sorry ;A; I didn't mean to make you cry...but it will get better 'kay? And then worse...but eventually better again! Probably...not sure yet...don't kill me.
And to everyone else: Thanks from the bottom of my heart!
Questions for my lovely reviewers~
1) Would you like the story to be mostly centered around Luffy and the boy or would you rather it include all of the Straw Hat crew equally?
2) What other characters would you like to see eventually pop up? (i.e. remain Whitebeard pirates, Red Hair pirates, certain marines though not Akainu because he is dead to me *rage* or maybe some old friends I can't think of right now) Any places you'd like to see them visit?
3) Would you rather see more fluff or angst with the kid? I have a few different ways I can go for this story and I'd like you guys to help pave the way :)
4) Would you like me to write other AceXLuffy fanfics as well? (I have lots of plot ideas but don't wanna write them if nobody wants to read)